Gate latch and gate catch arrangement for a hinged gate



Sept. 5, 1967 F. L. LEONARD GATE LATCH AND GATE CATCH ARRANGEMENT FOR A HINGED GATE Filed Dec. 21, 1964 r ////I H INVENTOR. FRED L. LEONARD 135 214! ATTORN EY United States Patent 3,339,955 GATE LATCH AND GATE CATCH ARRANGE- MENT FOR A HINGE!) GATE Fred L. Leonard, 14720 NW. 8th Court, Miami, Fla. 33168 Filed Dec. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 419,684 Claims. (Cl. 292-60) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A gate latch and gate catch combination particularly adapted for use on swimming pool enclosures in which a fence post has enclosed therein a latch shaft having a terminal latch portion alignable in a locked position with an opening at one side of a gate opening, and in which combination a swingable gate includes a substantially U-shaped catch having a terminal portion engaging the interior of the fence post and orienting an upwardly disposed notch into position for engagement by the terminal latch portion of the latch shaft; the latch shaft being operated by an operator disposed at the upper end of the fence post.

This invention relates to a fence and gate, and in particular, to a gate latch and gate catch arrangement for releasably locking a hinged gate.

As is perhaps well known, fences around swimming pools are often required by city ordinances in order to guard against entry into the pool area by small children while unattended by adults. The same is true of fences for backyards in which there is a watch dog, as well as other places which are inherently dangerous for small children. One of the problems with such fence requirements is that the fences of necessity must have a gated opening for ingress and egress and a gate which is adapted to be opened readily, while a requirement often times frustrates the effect of the ordinance because small children are able to open the gate latch. Some latches have been placed high but children, using a stick, manage to reach them and unlock the gate. To overcome this, various types of hidden gate latches have been provided in the past to defeat such efforts by children. The instant gate latch is of the type which provides a hidden gate latch which is preferably operable from one of the highest positions on the fence structure including the gate.

It is, accordingly, a general object of this invention to provide a latch for a gate in a fence which includes a minimum number of parts to effectively hold the gate against movement and which can be readily operated by one familiar with its construction, yet which is secret in that it is operated by a hidden operator preferably located out of the reach of small children.

-It is an object of this invention to provide a latch for a gate which is operable by means of a hidden mechanism from an operator positioned relatively high.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a vertical slidable latch or keeper mounted within a gate post and arranged for travel in a path to and from companionate relation with a catch or latch bar rigidly carried on a gate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a gate latch and catch arrangement for a hinged gate which includes a gate post having a catch opening on the surface thereof which is generally in a plane parallel to the main plane of the fence adjacent a gate opening therein, and a striker bar in the gate post normally urged by resilient means into a latched position, said striker bar having an operator connected thereto which appears as a normally rigid portion of the fence.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a gate latch and gate catch arrangement for a hinged gate having a fence opening which is relatively simple in construction, readily assembled, inexpensive to manufacture and well adapted for use for latching gates in a protective fence for an area which is inherently dangerous to children and which latch is operable by means of an apparently rigid, yet moveable, portion of the fence.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partial elevation view of a fence section at an opening and illustrating a gate post constructed in accordance with this invention and a gate carrying a rigid catch for engagement with a striker bar or latch housed in the gate post.

FIGURE 2 is a partial elevation view similar to FIG- URE 1 and illustrating a gate post having a latch, and gate catch carried on a gate frame;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the plane of line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a partial elevation view, which is partly in cross section, of the lower portion of FIGURE 3 and illustrating the gate post latch and gate catch in operation and on movement to a position for opening the gate;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the plane of 5-5 of FIGURE 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a view, partly in cross section, taken along the plane of line 6-6 of FIGURE 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIGURE 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view similar to that of the lower portion of FIGURE 3 and illustrating a modified version of the latch portion of the shaft of FIGURE 3 and of the gate latch;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional View similar to that of FIGURE 6 of the modification of FIGURE 8, said view being taken along the plane of the line 99 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIGURE 10 is a cross sectional view, similar to that of FIGURE 5, and further illustrating the construction of the modification of FIGURE 8.

a fence having an opening along one edge thereof defined by a gate post 12, and along the other edge by a gate hinge post, not shown, for hingedly mounting a gate 14 thereto. Each of the posts are suitably supported as at v16, for instance in a concrete foundation, in the substantially vertical position shown to rigidly support the fence. The gate post 12 is of a hollow cylindrical construction, preferably of galvanized pipe; and as shown, the gate post includes the basic hollow vertical support member .18, which houses the latch mechanism to be described.

A decorative cap 20 or operator member is provided for the vertical support member which normally rests and is seated on a closure or guide bushing 22 for the top end 24 of the support member, the said guide bushing 22 which is internally the exterior threads 30 of the top end 24 of the suppoit member. The support member is provided with a hole 32 on one of the fence side's which communicates with the interior of the vertical support member for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. The latch mechanism housed in the vertical support member includes a shaft 34 or striker bar, which is slideably housed in the support member and which includes a latch portion 36 at one end. The other end 38 of the shaft 34 extends through the bushing 24 and is connected, as by the rivet 40, to the cap 20 for vertical movement threwith. A coil spring 42 is exteriorly carried on the shaft and captivated at its upper end by the roof 44 of the bushing and at its lower end by a cotter pin 46 which is fastened to the shaft and acts as a floor of a housing for the spring. Intermediate the length of the shaft a guide member 48 is provided and, as shown, comprises an annular washer which is also supported on a cotter pin 50.

In operation the striker bar or shaft 34 may be raised in its housing within the vertical support member to clear the horizontal projection of the hole 32 by raising the decorative cap 20 and, in so doing, energy is stored in the spring 42 to normally urge the latch portion and striker bar downwardly to a normal position with the latch portion in the horizontal projection of the hole. The latch portion 36 is beveled as at 52 on the side threof facing the hole 32, as shown, and notched as at 54 on the opposite side thereof. So that the alignment of the sides of the latch portion will be maintained on vertical movement together with the cap 20 and the latch 34, the shaft is keyed as at 56 to the guide bushing 22, as can be seen in FIGURE 5. As seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, the gate 14 includes a U-shaped catch member 58 suitably mounted thereto at a companionate height to that of the hole 34 such that the distal end 60, which is of hook form, will engage the beveled side 52 of the latch portion and drive it upwardly on slamming of the gate to be hooked as the spring urges the latch downwardly and the notched side or face engages the hooked distal end of the catch. As indicated in FIGURE 4, the gate may be opened by raising the cap 20, and consequently, the shaft with its latch portion and simultaneously swinging the gate so that the distal end is drawn free of the hole.

FIGURES 8, 9 and illustrate a modification of the instant invention in that the lower end of the shaft is provided with a radial projection 62 and the distal end 64 of the catch is provided with an undercut portion or trap 66. In this embodiment the gate is unlocked by rotating the shaft 34 about its longitudinal center line until the projection clears the undercut portion and, thereafter, raising the shaft and simultaneously, swinging the gate to free the gate catch from the hole 32. As indicated in FIGURE 10, which corresponds to the cross sectional view of FIGURE 5, the shaft 34 is provided with an extending projection 66 which is constrained to limited movement of rotation within an arcuate recess 68 or guide groove in the guide bushing 22. On closing the gate of the modified version, the shaft is raised and the gate closed to a position with the catch in the hole 34, after which the shaft is lowered and rotated into a locked position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a hidden latch is provided for a gate catch which is hidden from sight in the gate post housing. Further, the wall of the gate post support acts as a stop for the gate limiting it to swinging movement on one side of the fence only. The device in either version is well adapted to guard against undesirable openings of the gate by small children by reason of the operator shown in the drawings being in a relatively out of the way postiion and, because it is generally curved or spherical in shape, a stick cannot easily be used to raise it as it will slip from the operator when a vertical force is applied. This latter effect is twofold if the version of FIGURES 8-10 is employed sinCe the operator must be turned as Well as raised to release the gate.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is:

1. A gate latch and gate catch arrangement for a hinged gate at a fence opening comprising:

a hollow rigidly anchored cylindrical fence post, de-

fining a smooth walled interior column, said post being supported in substantially vertical alignment at one edge and in the vertical plane of the gate opening and having a hole intermediate its height communicating with the interior column of the post and opening away from one side of vertical plane;

a one-piece rigid shaft including a terminal latch portion at one end, said shaft being slidably housed only in the column for linear vertical movement from a first normal latched position with the terminal latch portion within a general horizontal projection of the hole and the other end of said shaft extending out of the top of said fence post, to a second open and unlatched position with the latch portion raised just above the hole projection;

guide means to limit slidable movement of the shaft to vertical movement and including a top ring fixed to the upper end of the post and having an opening sized for sliding movement of the shaft, and a guide member on the shaft and at all times in the column and sized to slidingly abut the fence post interior;

an operator member carried exteriorly of the post and normally seated on the top ring when the shaft is in the first latched position, said operator member being fixedly connected to said rigid other end of said shaft and operable to transmit vertical forces to the shaft to move the terminal portion from the horizontal projection of said hole and vertically thereabove; and

a gate catch mounted on the distal edge of the gate to swing in a circular path outwardly of the circumference of the swinging distal edge of the gate and said gate opening, said gate catch extending outwardly of the plane of the gate on the same side of said gate as said hole in the fence post and at a companionate height, and extending generally outwardly and beyond of the circumference defined by the swinging distal edge of the gate, and thence inwardly to a terminal end portion generally at the plane of the fence post, the distance of the end portion being spaced from the distal edge of the gate a distance such that the span of the gate plus the said distance is equal to the fence opening plus substantially one-half of the thickness of the said gatepost, so that the end portion is adapted to enter said hole on swinging movement of the gate into the plane of the fence opening, said end portion being sized for close entry through the hole and into the column on closing of the gate, and said end portion including hook means to engage said terminal latch portion of the shaft in hooked-up relation when the shaft is in the lower latched position and free of hooked-up engagement when said latch portion is in said open position;

the terminal end of said end portion being spaced from the nearest side of the hook means a distance substantially equal to the distance one-half the column diameter of the fence post so that the terminal end is adapted on swinging closing movement of the gate to stop the swing on impact with the fence post substantially diametrically opposite of the hole and to position the latch portion and the hook means for hooked-up relation;

said operator member comprising a decorative top cap for the column and ring opening to raise the terminal latch portion out of engagement with the catch to unlock the gate.

2. A gate latch and gate catch arrangement for a hinged gate at a fence opening as set forth in claim 1 wherein resilient means are provided to connect the shaft and the post and normally urge the latch portion into the latched position.

3. A gate latch and gate catch arrangement for a hinged gate at a fence opening as set forth in claim 2 wherein said shaft is provided with a projection intermediate its length and said resilient means comprises a spring circumposed on said shaft and captivated between said projection and said top ring.

4. A gate latch and gate catch arrangement is set forth in claim 1 wherein the shaft is keyed to the top ring for slidable movement only to maintain said latch portion in a predetermined position of angular adjustment relative to the longitudinal center line of the shaft and the projection of said hole.

5. A gate latch and gate catch arrangement as set forth in claim 1 wherein means are carried on the shaft to engage said ring and to permit limited movement of rotation about the longitudinal axis of said shaft, said latch portion including a lateral projection, and said catch including hook means undercut at the distal end to engage 6 the lateral projection of the latch portion of the shaft when the catch is within the hole and the shaft is in the latch position and rotatable about its longitudinal axis so that the operator may not be slidably moved in the column except after a rotation of the shaft through said limited movement of rotation of said shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 152,848 7/ 1874 Lamb 29257 330,992 11/1885 Mathews 292175 608,353 8/1898 Van Olst 292152 639,419 12/1899 Manuel 292 859,499 7/1907 Hunt 292 1,958,731 5/1934 Voegelein 292171 2,370,841 3/ 1945 Chervenlta 29219 2,692,789 10/1954 Rivard 292175 X FOREIGN PATENTS 219,489 7/ 1924 Great Britain.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. EDWARD C. ALLEN, Examiner. J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GATE LATCH AND GATE CATCH ARRANGEMENT FOR A HINGED GATE AT A FENCE OPENING COMPRISING: A HOLLOW RIGIDLY ANCHORED CYLINDRICAL FENCE POST, DEFINING A SMOOTH WALLED INTERIOR COLUMN, SAID POST BEING SUPPORTED IN SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL ALIGNMENT AT ONE EDGE AND IN THE VERTICAL PLANE OF THE GATE OPENING AND HAVING A HOLE INTERMEDIATE ITS HEIGHT COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR COLUMN OF THE POST AND OPENING AWAY FROM ONE SIDE OF VERTICAL PLANE; A ONE-PIECE RIGID SHAFT INCLUDING A TERMINAL LATCH PORTION AT ONE END, SAID SHAFT BEING SLIDABLY HOUSED ONLY IN THE COLUMN FOR LINEAR VERTICAL MOVEMENT FROM A FIRST NORMAL LATCHED POSITION WITH THE TERMINAL LATCH PORTION WITHIN A GENERAL HORIZONTAL PROJECTION OF THE HOLE AND THE OTHER END OF SAID SHAFT EXTENDING OUT OF THE TOP OF SAID FENCE POST, TO A SECOND OPEN AND UNLATCHED POSITION WITH THE LATCH PORTION RAISED JUST ABOVE THE HOLE PROJECTION; GUIDE MEANS TO LIMIT SLIDABLE MOVEMENT OF THE SHAFT TO VERTICAL MOVEMENT AND INCLUDING A TOP RING FIXED TO THE UPPER END OF THE POST AND HAVING AN OPENING SIZED FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE SHAFT, AND A GUIDE MEMBER ON THE SHAFT AND AT ALL TIME IN THE COLUMN AND SIZED TO SLIDINGLY ABUT THE FENCE POST INTERIOR; AN OPERATOR MEMBER CARRIED EXTERIORLY OF THE POST AND NORMALY SEATED ON THE TOP RING WHEN THE SHAFT IS IN THE FIRST LATCHED POSTION, SAID OPERATOR MEMBER BEING FIXEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID RIGID OTHER END OF SAID SHAFT AND OPERABLE TO TRANSMIT VERTICAL FORCES TO THE SHAFT TO MOVE THE TERMINAL PORTION FROM THE HORIZONTAL PROJECTION OF SAID HOLE AND VERTICALLY THEREABOVE; AND A GATE CATCH MOUNTED ON THE DISTAL EDGE OF THE GATE TO SWING IN A CIRCULAR PATH OUTWARDLY OF THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE SWINGING DISTAL EDGE OF THE GATE AND SAID GATE OPENING, SAID GATE CATCH EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF THE PLANE OF THE GATE ON THE SAME SIDE OF SAID GATE AS SAID HOLE IN THE FENCE POST AND AT A COMPANIONATE HEIGHT, AND EXTENDING GENERALLY OUTWARDLY AND BEYOND OF THE CIRCUMFERENCE DEFINED BY THE SWINGING DISTAL EDGE OF THE GATE, AND THENCE INWARDLY TO A TERMINAL END PORTION GENERALLY AT THE PLANE OF THE FENCE POST, THE DISTANCE OF THE END PORTION BEING SPACED FROM THE DISTAL EDGE OF THE GATE A DISTANCE SUCH THAT THE SPAN OF THE GATE PLUS THE SAID DISTANCE IS EQUAL TO THE FENCE OPENING PLUS SUBSTANTIALLY ONE-HALF OF THE THICKNESS OF THE SAID GATEPOST, SO THAT THE END PORTION IS ADAPTED TO ENTER SAID HOLE ON SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE GATE INTO THE PLANE OF THE FENCE OPENING, SAID END PORTION BEING SIZED FOR CLOSE ENTRY THROUGH THE HOLE AND INTO THE COLUMN ON CLOSING OF THE GATE, AND SAID END PORTION INCLUDING HOOK MEANS TO ENGAGE SAID TERMINAL LATCH PORTION OF THE SHAFT IN HOOKED-UP RELATION WHEN THE SHAFT IS IN THE LOWER LATCHED POSITION AND FREE OF HOOKED-UP ENGAGEMENT WHEN SAID LATCH PORTION IS IN SAID OPEN POSITION; THE TERMINAL END OF SAID END PORTION BEING SPACED FROM THE NEAREST SIDE OF THE HOOK MEANS A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE ONE-HALF THE COLUMN DIAMETER OF THE FENCE POST SO THAT THE TERMINAL END IS ADAPTED ON SWINGING CLOSING MOVEMENT OF THE GATE TO STOP THE SWING ON IMPACT WITH THE FENCE POST SUBSTANTIALLY DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSTIE OF THE HOLE AND TO POSITION THE LATCH PORTION AND THE HOOK MEANS FOR HOOKED-UP RELATION; SAID OPERATOR MEMBER COMPRISING A DECORATIVE TOP CAP FOR THE COLUMN AND RING OPENING TO RAISE THE TERMINAL LATCH PORTION OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CATCH TO UNLOCK THE GATE. 